Muan-gun O Seung-woo Art Museum Honorary Director, Painter O Seung-woo Passes Away

Published 05 Apr.2023 14:21(KST)

Donation of 178 Artworks... Opening of Muan-gun O Seung-woo Art Museum in 2011

Veteran Western-style painter Oh Seung-woo (aged 93), a member of the National Academy of Arts of Korea and honorary director of the Muan-gun Oh Seung-woo Art Museum, passed away on the afternoon of the 3rd due to illness.

According to the county on the 5th, the late artist, originally from Hwasun, Jeollanam-do, was the eldest son of the late Oh Ji-ho, a pioneer of Korean Impressionism, and the older brother of the late Oh Seung-yoon, who passed away in 2006, coming from a prestigious art family representing Honam.

Muan-gun Oh Seung-woo Art Museum [Photo provided by Muan-gun]

Additionally, his two sons are Western-style painter Oh Byung-wook, a professor at Dongguk University, and sculptor Oh Sang-wook.

Oh Seung-woo, who graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at Chosun University, was consecutively selected as a special prize winner four times at the National Art Exhibition from 1957 to 1960, and at the age of 31 became the youngest recommended artist. He was elected as a member of the National Academy of Arts of Korea in 1993, received the Seoul City Culture Award and the National Academy of Arts Award, and was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit, Ok-gwan in 1992 and Eun-gwan in 2011.

In February 2011, he donated 175 works to Muan-gun, leading to the opening of the Muan-gun Oh Seung-woo Art Museum named after him.

Later, in 2012, he donated an additional three works depicting the landscapes of Muan-gun, bringing the total to 178 works. The Muan-gun Oh Seung-woo Art Museum’s permanent exhibition hall displays 26 works ranging from Oh Seung-woo’s early to recent pieces.

Oh Seung-woo explored the roots of tradition and the beauty of nature, working on different themes according to the period.

Starting with the ‘100 Mountains of Korea’ series in the 1980s, created by personally climbing over 130 famous mountains in Korea, he presented the ‘Oriental Archetype’ series in the 1990s, depicting traditional Eastern architecture with fiery colors, and the ‘Ten Longevity Symbols’ series in the 2000s.

Kim San, the county governor, said, “Oh Seung-woo served as president of the Mokwoohoe for over ten years and played a greater role than anyone else in the Southern Korean figurative painting scene,” adding, “We pay tribute to the late artist’s passion and artistic spirit, who led the development of Western-style painting in our country.”

The funeral hall is set up in Room 14 of Samsung Seoul Hospital Funeral Hall, with the funeral procession scheduled for 9 a.m. on the 6th.